William James Herschel was born in Slough, England in 1833. His father, John Herschel, was an astronomer throughout the 19th Century. William is credited for being the first European to use fingerprints. But he was actually the very first person in the world to use fingerprints as a way to identify people. He was a British officer in India and used fingerprints for identification of people on contracts. He recognized that fingerprints were permanent and everyone's was different. To prove his credibility, he documented his own fingerprints throughout his lifetime. William is also the first person to use fingerprints in a practical manner, or for a beneficial reason.
